Studio Azzurro of Milan, an artistic group produced by Takechi,
introduce their installation works and other pieces at the Society for Arts and Science.
Not only does Takechi introduce overseas artists in Japan, she also actively holds events
to raise awareness of Japanese artists worldwide.

Art ProducerMiho Project Representative:Miho Takechi

Kyoto hospitality captivates even prestigious European brands: Now it is extended worldwideProducing numerous events from Kyoto for prestigious
European brands such as L’Oreal, Chanel, and Cartier creates a business that makes
the fullest possible use of the Kyoto spirit of ”guest entertaining,” to great
acclaim both in Japan and overseas.

Miho Takechi was born and brought up in the Muromachi
district of Kyoto. Her family was engaged in the production
of Nishijin brocade neckties and other textile-related work,
but Takechi herself had an overwhelming interest in art, and
after graduating from university she went to study at the School
of Art and Design Zurich. Here she encountered a salon-type atmosphere
among cultural figures and their activities in support of culture,
and also experienced how art could become a business. Later,
in addition to amassing a range of artistic and cultural experiences
in Germany and Italy, she also awoke for herself to the beauty of Kyoto’s
traditional culture. Based on this in-depth Japanese and international experience,
Takechi embarked on her career as a Kyoto-based art producer.

Brought up in Muromachi (a silk-weaving district of Kyoto),
Takechi was familiar from an early age with the Kyoto manner
of hospitality. She says that her grandfather would often hold tea
ceremonies at the family home, and that she remembers this experience.
She knew the best way to set things out according to the season, and also
says that as she was brought up in Kyoto it is easy for her to enter this
sort of world. She began to think it would be possible to do something
interesting by offering the sort of ”enjoyment” or ”fun” that lies
hidden in Kyoto’s inner depths as hospitality directed to outsiders.
One of the works Takechi has produced recently was the ”Japanese Rouge”
presentation. The French company Chanel held this event for magazine editors
and others to publicize shades of red lipstick available exclusively in Japan,
and over 100 people gathered in Kyoto from both Japan and overseas for the occasion.
A series of events was held on the theme of red in Japan, not just the Japanese Rouge
presentation but also including a lecture inside a traditional Kyoto machiya house.
In addition, she set out the ReizeikeHouse, the oldest court noble’s house in Japan,
with a red motif and planned events such as a lecture by the Reizeike on ”Red in waka poetry.”
A tea ceremony was also held at the Hyotei, one of Kyoto’s most famous ryotei high-class restaurants.

Takechi points out that Kyoto people have not tended to
offer this sort of hospitality actively to outsiders of
their own accord. They have a characteristic attitude that
”There are some genuinely good things in Kyoto, but it’s
good enough for us to enjoy them here for ourselves.”
She says this is the reason that she doesn’t receive any
requests from within Kyoto itself for work making use of Kyoto culture.
This may be a great loss for Kyoto. Effective use of hospitality
for the ”lateral expansion” of Kyoto culture internationally would
contribute not only to the city’s vitalization, but also to making its
presence known on the international stage, something that would link directly
with Japan’s ”soft power.” The new shoots of creativity that are being
generated by the activities of this single art producer promise to lead to a
strong leap forward in the”lateral expansion” of Kyoto’s cultural capacity
into the international arena.

For the past few years Takechi has been working
on cultural exchanges between Kyoto’s Nishiki Market and the Central Market
in Florence, and in 2006 she arranged their affiliation in a sister relationship.
Her aim is the creation of a new gastronomic culture by linking the ”kitchens”
that play such an important role in the food cultures of both east and west.

Takechi’s office-cum-salon is called ”yu-an”.
This machiya Kyoto merchant’s-style house acts as a hideaway where up-and-coming
artists and cultural figures can gather and discuss the new Kyoto culture, with Takechi as
their host.

Doshisha Business School
Graduate School of Business, Doshisha University
Office of the Program for Innovative Globalization of Kyoto’s Heritage
Industries.
Karasuma Imadegawa, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8580, Japan
TEL：+81-75-251-4600 / FAX：+81-75-251-4710